Garment compensating for vascular insufficiency of wearer



April 8, 1958 Q JOBST 2,829,641

GARMENT COMPENSATING FOR VASCULAR INSUFFICI ENCY 0F WEARER I Filed March 14, 1955 FIG.2.

IN V EN TOR.

CONRAD JOBST BY 7 flw uzafiM ATTORNEYS...

United Smtes Patent GARMENT COMPENSATING FOR VASCULAR INSUFFICIENCY 0F WEARER Conrad Jobst, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Jobst Institute Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 14, 1955, Serial No. 494,019

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-165) The invention relates to a garment designed to compensate for vascular insufliciency of the wearer. The instant invention is a further development of the means forming the subject matter of my former Patent No. 2,574,873, issued November 13, 1951. The basic idea embodied in the means of this patent is an elastic garment enveloping some portion of the body of the wearer and which is under circumferential tensions which pro gressively increase in a direction away from the heart. As specifically illustrated and described in the patent the garment is a stocking applied to a leg of the wearer. It is, however, advantageous to extend the garment to other portions of the body utilizing the same principle of highest tension in the portion most distant from the heart and progressively decreasing towards the region of the heart. The instant invention relates to such construction as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the geometrical principle involved in the construction of the garment.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the sections of the garment before attachment of the same to a complementary section.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of he completed garment.

Fig. 4 is a cross section through a seam of the garment.

In the diagram, Fig. 1, a and b are two small circles arranged tangent to each other and c is a larger circle enveloping the circles a and b and tangent thereto. d, e, f, g, f, g are portions of an envelope shown as folded and flattened with outer folds between the portions d4, e-g, d-f' and e-g' and inner folds between the portions f-g and fg. Such envelope can be expanded to surround both small circles a and b or it may be further expanded to surround the large circle 0. In other words, the sum of the length of the folded portions is equal to either the circumferential lengths of a and b or the circumferential length of c. a and b may be considered the leg portions of a garment and c the body portion above the legs. It is, of course, true that neither the legs or the body of an individual are true circles nor is the circumference of the body exactly twice the circumference of the legs in their largest diameters. However, this diagram may be generally representative of the relation in circumferential lengths of the body and leg portions of the garment which may be altered to fit individual users.

The elastic fabric from which the garment is formed has its elastic strands all parallel to each other and transverse to the vertical length of said garment. The leg portions A are formed from separate blanks, each of which is folded to form two plies A, A with a fold 13 extending longitudinally of the garment. The edges C of the plies opposite to the fold B are cut to the same contour and are then slightly overlapped and seamed to each other, as indicated at D. To form the body portion of the garment, each of the blanks A is extended upward above the leg portion thereof and these body portions are then seamed to each other. The contour C of this portion would determine the circumferential lengths of the body portion but in changing from the two closed circles to the one larger circle it would be difficult to form this contour C so as to fit the changing curves of the body, maintaining the elastic strands in substantially parallel 2,829,641 Patented Apr. 8, 1958 horizontal planes. To overcome this difliculty, I continue the seam D the full length of the contour portions C and C in each of the separate blanks and form a cutout E in one of the plies of each blank which is located between the fold B and the seamed contour. The corresponding portions of the contour of the cut-out in each blank are seamed to each other and, therefore, will con form this portion of the garment to the groin and the body portion above the same to the region of the heart. As shown in Fig. 2, the cut-out has a large rounded portion E at its lower end which then tapers as at E towards the upper end. By properly contouring the portions C and E the garment when worn by the individual will have elastic strands thereof in substantially parallel horizontal planes throughout the entire length of the garment including both the separate leg portions and the single body portion. The progressive change in circumferential tensions is also produced by the contouring of the blanks so that the highest tension is at the lower end and gradually decreases towards the upper end, being lowest in the region of the heart.

It is to be understood that these garments are made to suit the individual wearing the same and from exact measurements. One method of forming a template correspondnig to such measurements is described in my Patent No. 2,691,221, issued October 12, 1954. This describes specifically only the method of obtaining a template for the leg portion of the garment but further measurements of the individual may be made including circumferential lengths around the hips, the waist and chest from which the blanks may be properly contoured.

It has been found in a large number of cases that the wearing of such a garment compensates for vascular insufficiency and improves the return circulation of the blood. Another important effect produced by the wearing of such a garment even by healthy individuals is that it lessens fatigue in long continued exercise, as for instance with ballet dancers.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A garment compensating for vascular insufficiency of the wearer being formed of an elastic fabric and including a portion fashioned to fit about the loin of an individual wearer, an extension portion for fitting about each leg with progressively increasing circumferential tensions from the groin portion down each leg portion.

2. The construction as in claim 1 in which the garment is formed of two elastic fabric blanks, each having a portion for completely encircling a leg, and an upper portion for extending half way about the body above the legs, the latter portions of both blanks being seamed to each other.

3. The construction as in claim 2 in which each blank centrally folded forms two plies which are similarly contoured along the edges opposite the fold and are seamed to each other, the portions of said blanks above the leg portions thereof having contoured cut-outs between the fold and the seam, the margins of which cut-outs in the two blanks are seamed to each other.

4. A garment formed of elastic fabric which in use is adapted for extending from the region of the heart to an extremity of the wearer, the elastic strands of said fabric being in substantial horizontal planes for extending circumferentially around the adjacent portions of the body, the tensions of said strands progressively increasing from said heart region to the end of the extremity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,315,701 Herbener Apr. 6, 1953 2,574,873 Jobst Nov. 13, 1951 2,633,574 Dolan Apr. 7, 1953 

